Can You Sue a Doctor for Misdiagnosis?

In short, the answer to the common question “can you sue a doctor for misdiagnosis?” depends on whether the given misdiagnosis caused actual damages to the patient. Without legally definable damages, any given doctor misdiagnosis is not a solid basis for a viable malpractice claim. Aside from damages, viable medical malpractice claims relating to misdiagnosis will require patients and their legal counsel to establish several other important elements of a case, including that a doctor-patient relationship existed and a given misdiagnosis being construed as negligence.

Confirming the Doctor-Patient Relationship Existed

When any patient enters into the care or examination of any physician, this medical professional must perform according to a standard of care, and in turn, the patient is legally owed a duty of care from the physician. Proving the relationship, and the legal responsibility to offer a standard duty of care, requires a patient to prove the nature of the relationship between themselves and a given doctor was one involving the doctor performing at his or her official capacity. In turn, the doctor overseeing the diagnosis of a given patient can be held liable for deviations for from the standard duty of care, if causing damages.

Establishing Negligence in Misdiagnosis Cases

Not every instances of misdiagnosis constitutes negligence. The determination of negligence is made based on what is known as the standard duty of care. In essence, standard duty of care seeks to determine if any other reasonably functioning physician in the same medical capacity, when faced with the same information and symptoms presented by a patient, would have come to a different diagnosis. Proving negligence in misdiagnosis cases requires patients to establish the nature of the differential diagnosis considered by their physician, as well as what the physician specifically did to rule out or confirm alternative diagnosis, based on the information presented to them by the patient.

Especially in medical misdiagnosis cases requiring immediate or urgent diagnosis and care, holding a physician negligent for a given diagnosis will require medical expert testimony that will seek to establish flaws in the differential diagnosis done by a doctor facing allegations of negligence. In the end, the plaintiff, or patient, needs to prove another medical professional would have come to a different, and the correct, diagnosis rather than the one offered by a doctor misdiagnosing a patient.

Solidifying a Viable Misdiagnosis Malpractice Claim with Damage Claims

Although a patient relationship existed, the doctor was negligent in their misdiagnosis, and in turn, can be held liable, patients must also document what damages they are actually holding the doctor in question liable for, such as economic and non-economic losses. In certain cases, misdiagnosis may incur the patient extra medical costs, force them to endure unnecessary medical treatment, and ultimately, prevent them from receiving the medical treatment they actually need. In these cases, economic damage claims will be appropriate, while in addition, certain non-economic claims, such as pain, suffering, and emotional distress, may also prove viable in a malpractice claim.

Getting Legal Help with Misdiagnosis Lawsuits

In order to build a viable misdiagnosis based malpractice suit, patients must first confer with legal counsel, who can help with preparing and documenting claims for patients. In addition, an attorney can assist patients with litigating claims before trial, as well as oversee any proposed settlement offers made by defendants.